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Friday, 9 May 2014

This picture book celebrates the loving relationship between Lily and her great-grandmother (GG) as her life starts to slow and wind down in hospice. GG and Mamela illustrates how strength and comfort can be found through love, family and tradition. This book offers a gentle and open-ended way to start a conversation about death and dying, as well as introduce the concept of hospice care. The talented, award-winning artist, Avi Katz, provides beautifully-rendered illustrations that perfectly complement this heartwarming story. The book concludes with GG’s recipe for chicken soup and an afterword by clinical psychologist Dr. Laura Brock.

Source: Info in the About GG And Mamela was from the press kit from the publicity team.

“…simple but emotionally resonant illustrations…a nice, true-to-life touch…The book pairs an ethereal illustration with lyrical text, which truly captures the healing, transporting power of music in this setting. A welcome addition to children’s literature about death and dying.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

“This book is beautifully written and illustrated. The author takes a difficult subject and weaves a story full of life lessons. The universal themes of life, death, family, loss,and chicken soup are shared through a child’s eyes and remind us that even after one dies, love remains.” ~ Jamie O’Malley, President and CEO, Midwest Palliative and Hospice CareCenter

”GG and Mamela is a large helping of Chicken Soup for the heart and soul. It helps children cope with the death of a loved one in gentle and understanding terms. Belinda Brock has done a great service for children and parents alike.” ~ Rabbi Evan Moffic, Spiritual Leader of Congregation Solel and Author

“This is a WONDERFUL story for families who are grappling with loss, death and dying. This is a wonderful story about a special relationship between a girl and her great grandmother at the end of her beautiful life. Very moving story, perfect for children!!” ~ 5 Star Review, Laura, Goodreads

My Thoughts

This review is from the perspective of somebody who has no children. Whose experience with children comes through the numerous kids with family and friends.

This is a picture book which tells the story of a grandmother almost at the end of her life and a too young girl who is about to experience life changes. These kind of things can sometimes be difficult. Emotions tends to get in the way. And like any other parenting aspect, there is no manual to tell how to do these things right. This book however, comes close. Not to tell us what or how to do things, but, can be used as a tool to make things easier. Some people may be so adept at parenting that they don't need any help in talking about difficult and/or awkward issues, i.e., death and dying, with their children. However, if you are like me who needs all the help they can get, this book is precious! You read this book to a child and apply the lessons in the book to your own lives (as applicable) and it makes the difficult topic of "separation anxiety" more understandable to young minds. And I believe that this is the best aspect of this book! And maybe, just mabye, it will make the separation experience a little less traumatic for the young and developing person. Less scars to bear later in life.

Meet The Author

About Belinda:

Currently a writing coach and free-lance editor, Belinda Brock‘s background is in teaching and educational publishing. She loves the intersection of literature and art found in picture books and believes their appeal and benefit extend beyond childhood. She also enjoys farmers’ markets, dreaming up soup recipes and Meatless Mondays. Although she didn’t become a librarian as she once considered, she is the sponsor and steward of the Little Free Library in her city. She has been known to stay up past her bedtime reading. Belinda writes about literacy, children and books on her blog–grandbooking–at http://belindabrock.com and also at Highland Park Sun-Times where you can check out this great interview with Belinda.

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Belinda Brock and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

4 comments:

Thank you for your lovely review Cherry. I recall losing my grandfather when I was quite young and the way it was dealt with was to ignore it. Like, if you don't talk about it, there's no problem. I'm so glad that things have changed in this respect and that we have books such as these to help us as grown-ups to open discussions with children. Often, children are processing things internally and don't have the language to articulate what they are feeling. I just loved this book! Thanks for taking part in the GG and Mamela Blog Tour. :-)